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DEMOCRACY IN INDIA, TO AVOID ‘A MILLION MUTINIES’ Miguel Angel Lara Otaola
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Abstract: This essay will evaluate democracy‟s success both by democracy in its own
right- according to its minimum definition- and, given India‟s particular context, by
democracy as instrumental for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and for holding the
country together. When evaluated by democracy‟s minimum definition and procedural
conditions Indian democracy is successful. However, fulfilling these procedural
conditions is not enough for measuring the general success of Indian democracy. Given
India‟s particular context as a country with many languages, cultures, religions and
social structures with tensions between them, an evaluation of democracy as an
instrument for conflict prevention and resolution is a must. In this respect, democracy,
as a system of rights that protects, incorporates and respects minorities, allows
expression and is responsive to citizen‟s demands, is effectively instrumental, and thus
successful, for the peaceful resolution of conflicts. However, Indian democracy still has
many challenges. When democracy stops listening and responding to people‟s demands,
starts going against freedoms and rights, and doesn‟t respect minorities, conflicts arise.
Therefore, for preventing these conflicts and avoid „a million mutinies‟ (Naipaul, 1990),
democracy has to work. It is in the combination of these two features (democracy
measured by its definition and as instrumental) where Indian democracy‟s success lies.
Keywords Political liberalism, democracy, India, rule of law, accountability, comparative study
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“It is hard to imagine that if India’s
multicultural diversity was to be organized as
an enduring single state, it could be organized
as anything else but a (…) democratic polity”
(Kohli, 2001: 18)
This essay will evaluate democracy‟s success both by democracy in its own right-
according to its minimum definition- and, given India‟s particular context, by
democracy as instrumental for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and for holding the
country together. Both of these evaluations will be positive and determine that Indian
democracy is successful; however, this doesn‟t mean that Indian democracy is without
challenges for its consolidation. In India democracy has worked properly when
measured in its own right. When evaluated by democracy‟s minimum definition and
procedural conditions (as outlined by Bobbio, 2008; Dahl, 2000; Schmitter and Karl,
1996) - as a system with free, fair and frequent elections, universal suffrage and that
guarantees certain freedoms and rights to its citizens - Indian democracy is successful.
However, fulfilling these procedural conditions is not enough for measuring the general
success of Indian democracy. Given India‟s particular context as a country with many
languages, cultures, religions and social structures with tensions between them, an
evaluation of democracy as an instrument for conflict prevention and resolution is a
must. In this respect, democracy, as a system of rights that protects, incorporates and
respects minorities, allows expression and is responsive to citizen‟s demands, is
effectively instrumental, and thus successful, for the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
However, Indian democracy still has many challenges, especially at the sub-national
level. When democracy stops listening and responding to people‟s demands, starts
going against freedoms and rights, and doesn‟t respect minorities, conflicts arise.
Therefore, for preventing these conflicts and avoid „a million mutinies‟ (Naipaul, 1990),
democracy has to work. Consequently, if India wants to overcome its conflicts and
prevent others from happening it should expand the success of its model. It is in the
combination of these two features (democracy measured by its definition and as
instrumental) where Indian democracy‟s success lies.
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I. Success of democracy in its own right
A. Democracy and its minimal conditions
Democracy is a competitive system with free, fair and regular elections and universal
suffrage where citizens are guaranteed their main freedom rights (Bobbio, 2008). For
complementing this basic definition, democracy needs certain procedures for it to work.
In this respect Robert Dahl (Dahl, 2000: 84-85) has outlined several procedural minimal
conditions that enable modern representative democratic government. These are the
following “elected officials; free, fair, and frequent elections; freedom of expression;
alternative sources of information; associational autonomy and; inclusive citizenship”
(Dahl, 2000:85; (Schmitter and Karl, 1996:55). It is against this definition and
conditions that Indian democracy will be evaluated.
B. India’s minimal conditions for democracy
When measured against democracy‟s minimal definition and procedural conditions
(Dahl, 2000:84-85), Indian democracy is and has been a success. Since its independence
in 1947 and the 1950 Constitution, and except for an eighteen month period between
1975 and 1977, India at the national level has met these basic indicators of democracy.
Since the first competitive general election in 1952 (Randall, 2000: 196) India has had
15 further general elections that have witnessed the coming and going of different ruling
parties. The same has been true for most of state elections (Desai, 2005:14). In general
these elections have been held at regular intervals (Gill, 1998:165) in which all political
offices are contested (Kohli, 2001:3), and in which there‟s universal male suffrage
(Page, 2005:5). Furthermore, these elections have been free; “those who govern do so
because the voters choose them” (Gill, 1988:166) and fair “Indian voters regularly
overthrowing incumbent parties, chief ministers and prime ministers through peaceful
elections” (Gill, 1998: 166). Also, Indian democracy has been successful as well in
regards to freedom of expression and association and the existence of alternative
sources of information. India enjoys “considerable scope to express political dissent and
protest” (Kohli, 2001: 3) as well as “one of the world‟s freest presses and electronic
media” (Desai, 2005: 62), with the press remaining “vigorous, free, and unafraid to
challenge the government” (Varshney, 1998:1). Plus, India has an “important
associational life” (Randall, 1997:207) and an “active civil society” (Page, 2005: 63)
integrated by groups so different as language movements, Dalit movements and student
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movements, amongst others. However, this record of democratic conditions in India
was absent between 1975 and 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared
„Emergency rule‟. During this period, Indira Gandhi bypassed institutions (Ganguly,
2003:15), damaged civil liberties and arrested and removed opposition leaders
(Ganguly, 2003:15; Mishra, 2000:7). Paradoxically, this episode serves to confirm the
character of India‟s democracy; when elections were resumed in 1977, and due to the
abuses committed during the „Emergency‟, Indira Gandhi‟s Congress Party was
peacefully ousted from power by the citizens. However, fulfilling the procedural
conditions of democracy is not sufficient to judge its general success. Democracy,
specifically in the Indian case has to be evaluated as instrumental for resolving conflicts
and holding the country together.
II. Success of democracy as instrumental
A. Diversity and tensions
India is a very plural country with many different social, religious, cultural and
linguistic expressions. In relation to this, throughout its history and until today, India
has suffered of constant religious, caste and regional tensions that have made it difficult
both to administer and hold together. India has an immense diversity; India has almost
as many ethnic groups as the entire African continent (LOC, 2004:7); has at least 114
languages (LOC, 2004:7); “is a religiously plural society” (Brown, 1985:17) where even
its main religions, Hinduism and Islam, have variations within themselves; and is made
up of many different castes and sub castes. In some cases this ethnic diversity and social
structure has led to tensions and conflict throughout the country. Examples of this are
the Hindu-Sikh problems in Punjab (Varshney, 1998:3), the violence related to caste
inequalities in the Hindi heartland (Kohli, 2001:15), the tribal insurgencies in Telengala
and Maharashtra, the increasing activism of the so-called backward castes (Kohli,
2001:15), the violent protests of the „sons-of-the-soil” movements in Assam (Bhaumik,
2007: 1), the presence of Maoist rebels in Chattisgarh (Mohammed Ali, 2006:1), and of
course the Hindu-Muslim conflict, marked by wars with Pakistan, Muslim separatist
groups in Kashmir, etc. Naturally, this has led many to believe that democracy is against
the odds in India and that it is a miracle by itself that the country is still together.
However, these conflicts, although relevant, are not representative of India as a whole.
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In fact, it is precisely democracy that has prevented many conflicts and thus a „million
mutinies‟ from exploding in India.
B. Democracy as a system for peaceful resolution of conflicts.
“What makes India survive and thrive is the willingness of people to talk to each other,
to take advantage of the ballot box and to tell their rulers frequently where the limits of
their tolerance and patient non-violent conduct are located” (Desai, 2005:9)
In spite of the many tensions outlined before, Indian democracy has survived for a long
time and has adequately dealt with ethnic, religious and social demands and has
peacefully resolved most of the country‟s conflicts. This is because democracy, besides
its minimal definition and procedures, protects pluralism and is a „system of rights‟ that
„helps people to protect their own fundamental interests‟ (Dahl, 2000:48) and is
responsive to citizen‟s and group‟s demands. In India this is evidenced because of the
system‟s moderation, inclusiveness and its commitment and responsiveness to
minorities2 and their rights. In this respect, in India the democratic system has worked
properly. It has been representative and inclusive (Desai, 2005:56) and has incorporated
India‟s multicultural diversity (Kohli, 2001:11), accommodated and negotiated regional
ambitions and interests (Kohli, 2001), and respected minorities and their rights
(Ganguly, 2003:13; Lijphart, 1996:260, Varshney, 1998:3). Examples of this are the
accommodation of rival elites (Kohli, 2001:7), the incorporation of India‟s lower castes
into the democratic system (Kohli, 2001: 16), giving political power to Indians who
speak different languages (Kohli, 2001: 19), the Indian constitution‟s recognition of the
rights of religious minorities and the fact that it didn‟t privilege the majority Hindu
system of custom and belief (Ganguly, 2003:13) the existence of personal laws for all
religious communities and their right to establish their own autonomous schools
(Lijphart, 1996: 260), and enabling groups and movements to successfully press their
demands (Kohli, 2001:11) at the same time as responding to them, among others.
Democracy is a system that allows citizens to voice their concerns, to protect their
interests and defend their rights, all this in a framework of equality and respect for
pluralism. Therefore, given India‟s culture and its ethnic, religious and social diversity it
is difficult to avoid building an effective system other than democracy for solving its
many tensions. In fact, India‟s motto “unity in diversity” seems only to work, for the
reasons outlined above, in a democratic context.
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III. Democracy’s challenges
In India, “many discontents are manageable precisely because there is a democratic
framework” (Page, 2005:69), however, this doesn‟t mean that democracy has
permanently become „the only game in town‟. There are still a number of challenges for
democracy and its consolidation. In particular, the analysis done above focuses on India
at the national level; at the state level the same things can‟t be said about democracy.
Some states in India have had periods of authoritarianism where “the central
government has taken over their administration, elections have been suspended, citizens
have been denied their basic civil and political rights and independent associations and
organizations were carefully watched and in some cases brutally suspended” (Potter,
1999: 7) It is here, where democracy stops working, when conflicts are not peacefully
resolved and violent separatist movements and religious conflicts emerge. When the
system is not excluded and people don‟t have the chance to express their demands and
these are not dealt with, when their rights are trampled and pluralism is suffocated, they
look for other alternatives for advancing their interests. When this happens, events such
as the Gujarat train incident and the following revenge by Hindu mobs (Ganguly,
2003:11) start to occur. These types of events must be regarded not as a „Crisis in Indian
secularism‟ (Ganguly, 2003) but as a crisis in Indian democracy, which is more
worrisome. Therefore, for preventing these conflicts and overcome these challenges
democracy has to work as it should: both as system with free, fair and regular elections
where citizens enjoy their main freedom rights (in its own right - minimal definition)
and as an inclusive system of rights that is committed to minorities and responsive to
citizen‟s demands (as instrumental for conflict prevention and resolution).
IV. Conclusions
Indian democracy has been a success when assessed in its own right -according to its
definition- and when evaluated as an instrumental value for the peaceful resolution of
conflicts. Both features have to be taken together and viewed as one. Democracy in
India has been a success since it has an inclusive citizenship, elected officials, holds
free, fair and frequent elections and allows freedom of expression, access to alternative
sources of information and associational autonomy. On the other hand, democracy has
been successful in India at the national level for peacefully preventing and resolving
conflicts. This has been achieved since democracy it is an inclusive system of rights that
recognises and respects minorities, tolerates pluralism and diversity, and allows for the
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expression of citizen‟s and group‟s concerns and demands and is responsive to them by
negotiation, accommodation and delivery. However, democracy in India faces a major
challenge, when democracy stops working, demands are not heard, rights are not
respected, associations are crushed and freedom of expression is silenced the ghost of „a
million mutinies‟ appears in the horizon. Therefore, for overcoming this, Indian
democracy has to be successful both in its own right and as instrumental for conflict
prevention and resolution. If India is to truly live its motto and avoid having „a million
mutinies‟, „a million voices‟ i.e. democracy, are needed.
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RAZÓN Y PALABRA Primera Revista Electrónica en América Latina Especializada en Comunicación www.razonypalabra.org.mx
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1 Investigador. Correo: [email protected]
2 In India even Hindus could be considered as a minority since even amongst them there are many
cultural, linguistic, social and even religious variations, differences and divisions.
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